Order management software with POS.

[pixeljuice]

Is anyone aware of order management software with POS that is Mac friendly? Windows software via Parallels or Fusion isn't an option for me with this project.

[d_host]

Re: Order management software with POS.

Sure. LightSpeed and Checkout are the two biggest and most popular options for Mac OS X, but if you google for Mac OS X Point Of Sale software there are a few other options as well - such as POS-IM Diamond, XpertMark, MerchantOS, Sixth Sense POS, and many many others.

[Siamese-Dream.Com]

Re: Order management software with POS.

Hi there, Remik:

Do you also have any recommendations for us PC based people who are running Windows XP? Would love something that is Miva friendly and can work on brick and mortar stores (since we have two retail stores, and doesn't cost a fortune.

[d_host]

Re: Order management software with POS.

XP...... hmmm...... Doesn't Stone Edge Order Manager have POS functionality built in, and already ties in with Miva Merchant so you don't have to do any manual data exchange between your online and offline stores?

[kayakbabe]

Re: Order management software with POS.

I think you do have to push a button to sync the two.. maybe.
Perhaps a StoneEdge employee can clarify...
what does happen when you do a POS sale? Is the inventory on the website updated immediately?

[d_host]

Re: Order management software with POS.

Well, you may have to push a button, perhaps... what I meant was you may not have to write any custom scripts to sync your Miva info or inventory or online sales with your off-line POS system which has its own database, sales info, etc. Typically to get the two to talk to each other and stay in sync you need a custom script that can exchange the data. There are some companies which specialize in writing nothing but such data exchange programs for online stores, accounting packages, POS systems, etc.

[Siamese-Dream.Com]

Re: Order management software with POS.

I THOUGHT I looked into Stone Edge Order Manager a while back and I THOUGHT that the pricing was prohibitive for two brick and mortar stores and two web sites... but I could be completely wrong about that.

[kayakbabe]

Re: Order management software with POS.

price prohibitive?

umm.. how much does a staff person cost you?

I know I spend even 2 k on a part timer easily...

and ... OM has more than made up for itself for sorting out shipping and order processing issues... etc. saved me about 4 full time salaries actually.

though I don't run a brick and mortar store through OM POS. I was thinking about doing it though. The inventory sync issue is what worries me, especially if there are lots of pos orders.

[pixeljuice]

Re: Order management software with POS.

I've used Stone Edge in the past with a Windows emulator. It was ok, but it's interface was... well.... Windows-y. By that I mean not intuitive and not pretty. We're all mac here and keep a PC running only to check for errors when viewing a site in IE.

I'm looking at lightspeed, but there are integration issues with 3rd party shopping carts. I was hoping to get some glowing review from a MIIVA merchant using Mac and a POS/Management app. Wishful thinking?

[Siamese-Dream.Com]

Re: Order management software with POS.

The inventory sync issue is what worries me, especially if there are lots of pos orders.

I thought the inventory sync between Miva Merchant and OM was quite good?

Or do you mean the delay in updating from a brick and mortar POS to the web site inventory (since you would probably do it once in the evening after the retail store closes for the day)?

[kayakbabe]

Re: Order management software with POS.

Yes, that is what I mean.
OM doesn't by default update the quantity on hand on the website whenever a Point of sale is made. so... also I can't just download the order then update the qoh back onto the website.. becuase orders on the website may occur in the intervening moments.

so ideally whenever a POS order is made.. Order manager would update the inventory on the websites at the same time.

I'm hoping that is what it does, or there is a way to turn that on to force it to do it. That way the inventory quantities in my store is also the inventory available online.

With viking coder inventory manager, I can set some popular products to be 'out of stock' at a quantity of 2 or 3 in the miva store.. that way I won't over sell things. (ie sell them online on the same day I sold them from my brick and mortar store). I don't sell as much in the brick and mortar store as I do online. so.. keeping a couple back is okay.

[DEXTERITY]

Re: Order management software with POS.

I've been looking for something that works on osx and is miva friendly, but have yet to do so. Let me know if you find anything :)

[d_host]

Re: Order management software with POS.

I've been looking for something that works on osx and is miva friendly, but have yet to do so. Let me know if you find anything :)

There's no magic bullet here. You have to find a POS system you like and that has the features you need. Then just have a developer build the "connector" script that exchanges info between the POS system and your Miva Merchant storefront - as little or as much data as you need. There are typically no "off the shelf" apps that tie in with every possible cart out there - these connector scripts are typically custom made for each client's needs About the only "off the shelf" connectors you will find are for some of the really big accounting packages that cost more than a small car, which by the comments earlier in this thread sounds like a bit beyond reach for small business owners looking for this solution. If your budget doesn't include a large scale accounting system, scale down your expectations accordingly - you will need to talk to a developer to get a custom script written for the specific combination of your shopping cart and POS (and accounting or other systems).

[DEXTERITY]

Re: Order management software with POS.

thanks for your response.

[Barney Stone]

Re: Order management software with POS.

Here's how the Stone Edge Order Manager handles real-time inventory tracking between a brick-and-mortar store running our POS system and one or more shopping carts. The carts can be any combination of Miva stores are or any of the others that we support that handles real-time inventory tracking.

When any change in Quantity on Hand (QOH) occurs in the Order Manager, that change is sent automatically to all of your Web stores where you are tracking QOH. That includes POS sales, new inventory received, returns and exchanges, phone orders, etc. The delay in getting that information to your Web stores depends on your Internet connection and the responsiveness of the scripts in your stores, but is typically less than a minute. No button clicks or other manual operations are necessary for that.

Going the other direction, the Order Manager does not find out about your Web sales until you import your orders. Currently, that does require clicking a button for each Web store. It can be done as often as you like. (We plan to add the capability to run automatic scheduled imports to our Enterprise Version in the next few months.) As orders are imported from one Web store, the QOH in the Order Manager is updated, and updates are also sent automatically to any other Web stores that are tracking QOH.

There is no way currently to have the Order Manager share inventory between multiple B&M stores. That capability, too, should be coming later this year. There are a number of ways that you could operate in the meantime. Please feel free to call me to discuss that.

The cost to use the Stone Edge Order Manager with one B&M store along with any number of Miva stores would be about $3,000 for up to 5 workstations, or $6,000 for our Enterprise Version and up to 10 workstations. Those are one-time fees, and there are no per-transaction or revenue sharing charges. They also include a year of support and program updates. Adding a second B&M store would double those amounts, but if you purchase both at the same time we would negotiate a discount for the second store. Those prices are dramatically lower than those of most of our competitors, and a fraction of the cost of one minimum-wage employee. Finally, we have a major commitment to Miva users, with nearly 700 Miva merchants using our systems.

I will be glad to answer any other questions you have, either here in the Forum or by phone or email.